Kuroko's Magic
by Eve Is My Pen Name
Summary: Akashi returns time and time again in some desperate attempt to save him. Madoka Magica AU.


**Kuroko's Magic**

"Now I would like to introduce our new transfer student. He spent some time in the hospital, so everyone please welcome him back into a school environment."

Kuroko glanced up from where he read his book. While he did not generally interact with other students, he found new people interesting. People watching became a habit of his long ago, and he liked to observe mannerisms and habits, preferences and passions.

"His name is Akashi Seijuro."

The name brought on a wave of whispers from his classmates, but Kuroko's neutral expression never wavered. He continued to watch, another unremarkable face in the crowd, as a red-haired boy stepped into the room. When he turned to face the class, everyone seemed to hold their breaths.

One crimson and one golden eye. His heterochromatic gaze intimidated all of those who fell victim to it. Though he wore the same uniform as the rest of them - black pants, white collared shirt, pale blue jacket - his appeared particularly sophisticated and refined.

Kuroko observed impassively, and despite the fact that he was a phantom, an ordinary boy often forgotten, that stare settled on him and lingered. Even when time edged into awkwardness, Akashi did not waver.

If Kuroko had been anyone but himself, he would have blushed.

"Akashi, would you like to introduce yourself?" the teacher prompted.

Finally, Akashi pulled his gaze away and wrote his name on the board with quick, neat strokes. "I am Akashi Seijuro. It is nice to meet you."

"Let's see. We need a seat for you… Ah, I know. There, by the win- Oh."

Rather than claim the seat by the window as the teacher almost suggested, Akashi marched through the rows of desks until he hesitated in front of Kuroko's seat. Kuroko almost thought he planned to evict him from his own desk, but instead, Akashi passed him and slid into the desk behind him.

No one ever remembered that empty desk existed. Normally, Kuroko's forgettable presence swept it into practical nonexistence.

The teacher clapped her hands decisively. "Okay, class, take out your textbooks."

Even as Kuroko turned his book to the correct page, he felt Akashi Seijuro's powerful gaze on his back.

…

Once the bell rang, the teacher left, and the students left their desks and gathered in groups to chat before their next instructor arrived. Normally, first years in high school tended to crowd around transfer students to pry little details out of them, but no one seemed brave enough to approach a conversation with Akashi.

Instead, they whispered behind their hands and occasionally stole secretive glances of him.

When Akashi stood, the entire class froze, but he acted as if he did not notice. Kuroko was aware of every movement and gesture though he pretended to focus on his book, and he knew the exact moment when Akashi moved to the front of his desk and faced him.

"You are the nurse's aid for this class, correct?"

Kuroko slowly lifted his gaze to meet those terrifying eyes. "Yes," he admitted.

"I have a headache. Could you escort me to the nurse's office?"

Akashi already moved to the door before Kuroko managed a nod. He quickly penned a note of explanation to the teacher and left it on her desk, and then he broke into a light trot to catch up with Akashi. Though he claimed to need assistance, Akashi took the correct hall.

When they fell in pace together, Kuroko asked, "How did you know I was the nurse's aid?"

"Amane-san told me."

Kuroko highly doubted the teacher told him anything, but he could hardly argue something he could not prove. Still, when Akashi made the correct left turn before he did, Kuroko's suspicions only grew.

They entered the glass tunnel that connected two of the school's buildings, and Kuroko suddenly became very of aware of just how isolated they were. Few students wandered the halls at this hour, and most of the faculty had reached their respective offices and classrooms by this point. Only he and Akashi stood in this hall, the walls made of glass around them.

A fact only strengthened when Akashi suddenly stopped and turned to face him. Kuroko made no move to run away, and he stood his ground across from him.

"Kuroko Tetsuya," Akashi said. "You value this life, do you not? Your friends, your family. You find them all precious?"

Though the questions almost made no sense in this context, Kuroko slowly nodded. "Of course I find my life and those in it precious."

"Then do not change yourself. Any part of yourself."

Before Kuroko could question anything of what Akashi said or his miraculous knowledge of both him and the school, Akashi turned away and walked out of the tunnel toward the nurse's office.

…

Sometimes there is simply too much power in one human being. Kuroko realized this when he met Aomine Daiki. The tall, dark-skinned student breathed power as easily as oxygen, and while such a gift should have brought happiness, despair descended on him instead.

Kuroko recognized the signs, yet he could do nothing to stop the transformation.

He distracted him, tried to remind him of what he loved. He passed basketball after basketball to him, but as Aomine hissed on the night that he finally snapped, he did not need Kuroko's passes anymore.

His power consumed him until he became a black hole. A void that threatened to suck everything good inside it.

Kuroko had no choice but to stop it.

"You are not going out there."

Akashi stood in the doorway of his bedroom, his heterochromatic eyes practically glowing in the darkness. Kuroko never gave the strange transfer student his address, and they never spoke besides that first day. Sometimes Kuroko felt his heavy stare on his back, but that did not explain Akashi's sudden appearance in his house. Did his parents or grandmother not hear him?

Yet somehow, despite the illogicality in the situation, Kuroko was not entirely surprised.

"Aomine-kun is my friend. This is my responsibility."

"There are those far more experienced in these situations than you. Let them handle this."

"Are you one of those people?"

Akashi gazed past Kuroko to his window. Even through the glass pane, they could feel the chill in the air. Distantly in the city, a black swirling cloud disintegrated even the tallest buildings and sent cars flying. A distant roar thrummed beneath their conversation as Aomine's agony intensified.

"Who are you?" Kuroko demanded.

Akashi answered by locking him inside his own bedroom and disappearing. By the time Kuroko managed to pick the lock and reach downtown, Aomine was already detained. He would go to a hospital where he would be sedated and then counseled. Perhaps after some therapy, he could rejoin society. It could take years.

Kuroko did not see Akashi, but he felt the burning of that multi-colored gaze.

…

Kise was the next to fall, and Kuroko supposed he should have seen that coming. After all, his gift was copying, and he always had mimicked Aomine best.

When Kuroko enrolled in Teiko High School, he never thought to question their methods. They gathered the most gifted, most skilled, most talented students, and then they challenged them again and again to reach their full potential. Yes, some succumbed under the pressure and combusted as Aomine did. The school and the city both considered this collateral damage.

Kuroko was so honored, so pleased, to be accepted into the high school that he did not stop to consider the flaws in such a philosophy. He was so ordinary, yet Teiko chose him. Who was he to question their ways?

But Kise was not like Aomine. He smiled, and he giggled. He worked so hard to please others almost more than himself. He draped himself over others, and he allowed himself to be the butt of the joke and the victim if only to make others smile for a moment as well.

He was the last person to deserve to erupt into a storm of despair. He took out an entire neighborhood before they restrained him. He now shared a room with Aomine in the hospital.

Kuroko did not try to interfere this time, but he did watch every second from a secluded alley. The citizens evacuated the area as soon as word of Kise's dissolution reached them, and only the authorities ventured onto the scene. Well, them and one other.

Kuroko observed as Akashi took Kise in his arms, shushed him and hugged him, and then escorted him to the authorities with promises to see him soon. Despite his low presence Kuroko had a feeling that Akashi knew he was there.

…

"Why is this happening?"

After the night that Murasakibara destroyed the tallest building in the city, Kuroko could no longer remain in the shadows. The next day at school, he slid into the seat across from Akashi at lunch. The other students still avoided him, so they had relative privacy despite the bustling in the rest of the cafeteria.

Akashi put down his fork. "You should be more specific," Akashi advised.

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, I suppose I do."

"None of this happened until you got here." Kuroko's voice remained polite though the accusation was there.

His golden eye flashed. "Am I the cause or the effect, I wonder?" he posed.

Kuroko tilted his head slightly, the only indication of his interest. "You asked me not to get involved. All my friends are falling, yet I remain unharmed. What good can possibly come from that?"

"More than you can imagine," Akashi promised.

"I have trusted you until now. I do not know why, for you have provided no solution. Three of my friends are still in the hospital, and they may never leave."

"Tetsuya."

Kuroko stood, and this time, he pinned the other with a glare. "You cannot stop me."

…

Teiko upheld the philosophy that to win was everything. They engrained the message in their students' hearts, and they measured their worth by how well they stood to that image.

When a student failed, and they would fail because they were human no matter how gifted, he or she fell into despair. The greater their potential, the more dangerous the backlash.

Aomine Daiki, Kise Ryouta, and Murasakibara Atsushi nearly destroyed the city with their collective eruptions.

Teiko High School flourished. After all, that's how the school continued. Feeding off the despair created by the students it raised and then crushed.

Akashi Seijuro knew this all too well. The headmaster explained every detail to him when he offered Akashi the position as his successor. Just as the students who failed fell into despair, those who won in everything fed off the weakness and misery of others. The school recognized one of their own in Akashi Seijuro and offered him a place with them.

Just like last time. And the time before that.

…

When Akashi met Kuroko for the first time - the true first time - Akashi watched as every student in the classroom avoided his gaze. Even though the teacher told them to welcome the transfer student, some actually placed backpacks on empty desks to keep Akashi as far away as possible. His red hair offended them. His twin crimson eyes scared them.

"Isn't there somewhere for Akashi to sit?" the teacher sighed.

"Excuse me, but there is a seat behind me?"

The teacher startled and placed a hand over her heart. "Oh, Kuroko! Sometimes I forget you're there. Yes, Akashi take a seat right over there."

Akashi walked down the row of seats, and he could not stop himself from watching the blue-eyed miracle boy as he drew closer. Such an expressionless face, hair so soft and blue, hands pale and delicate. He was beautiful, and he offered kindness as if it cost him nothing.

Akashi passed his desk without a word and sat behind him.

Once class was over and the teacher left, Kuroko turned around and pinned him with those piercing blue eyes. "You seem a bit overwhelmed. I am the nurse's aid if you would like to visit her," he offered.

Akashi was not overwhelmed. Weary from the day already, yes, but not overwhelmed. Still, the idea of Kuroko escorting him somewhere alone was far too appealing. He nodded his consent, and they both left the classroom after Kuroko left a note behind for the teacher.

Kuroko spoke quietly, but he gave Akashi a brief tour as they walked to the nurse's office. Akashi felt oddly warm.

Akashi originally came to Teiko to rise above all and become absolute, yet suddenly… Suddenly he could not quite remember why that was so important.

Unfortunately, Kuroko's other friends did not feel the same.

One by one, they each dissolved into plumes of despair. Aomine, Kise, Murasakibara, Midorima. Kuroko tried to save every one of them. He called out to them in their storms and cried tears in some desperate attempt to bring them back. He hurt himself in his efforts to save them, but they all ended the same way.

If they could not be restrained, they were removed entirely.

Was it really a surprise that Kuroko was the next to explode?

His expressionless face really did hide unimaginable potential because his aftermath nearly destroyed the entire city, and he would have if he did not purposefully drain his life's force before he could succeed. Akashi held his limp body in his arms, and his eye turned gold.

…

"I am absolute. I can see the entirety of the future. It is but a simple matter to change it."

Those were Akashi's words when the headmaster offered him the position the first time. All of Akashi's friends had fallen to despair, yet he remained seemingly unaffected. They did not realize that Akashi had protection.

…

"Now I would like to introduce our new transfer student. He spent some time in the hospital, so everyone please welcome him back into a school environment."

How many times had Akashi heard those words? How many times had he tried to save Kuroko?

He first warned Kuroko of Teiko's secret intentions, but the sudden rush of seemingly insane words only made Kuroko avoid and ignore Akashi altogether. He still tried to save each of his friends only to fall himself at the end. Failure. Akashi cried that night and then cursed himself because he should have known it would not be that easy.

Akashi tried subtler methods after that. He attempted to monopolize his attention, so that Kuroko cared for no one but himself. He underestimated just how much Kuroko cared for his friends even when he did not speak with them as much.

He then attempted to wedge thorns between him and the others, but Kuroko did not hold a grudge. Even after a monumental fight, he still went to save them.

Always the same. First Aomine, the holder of the most raw power, and then Kise always followed behind him. Murasakibara lost himself next, and though Midorima tried terribly hard to hold himself together, he never managed long. Then Kuorko. Always Kuroko.

Akashi realized that he needed to cut his losses. He could not save them, but he could minimize the loss. If he restrained them fast enough, they could recover in a hospital. Kuroko would understand that.

The effort cost Akashi large stores of his power, but anything to save Kuroko. Anything.

…

Anything.

…

Kuroko and Akashi both knew Midorima would fall next. They already lost the other three, and even if Kuroko declared his distrust in Akashi, they stood by one another as they watched the swirling vortex that was once their friend.

"How do you save them?" Kuroko asked.

"I talk to them," Akashi answered, peering up at where the storm was darkest. "I remind them that there are those who care about them no matter what mistakes they make. I tell them there is still plenty left to enjoy in this life."

"Will you remind me of those things, too?"

Akashi tore his eyes from Midorima's despair and met Kuroko's blue gaze. The same eyes that first entranced him.

"Tetsuya."

"I can feel it inside me. Rising. Once Midorima finishes, I will not last long."

"Don't worry, Tetsuya. I will save you. You will not become like that in the end."

"Did you ever wonder, Akashi-kun, if I'm a cause or effect?"

Akashi's eyes widened, and Kuroko smiled, a fleeting thing. "I am a shadow. I have no power of my own, but I can raise others' to infinite degrees. That's why all those near me create such damage. That's why I have the potential to destroy everything."

Kuroko leaned close and planted a soft kiss on the corner of Akashi's mouth. "And that's why you have the power to stop all this once and for all."

…

Akashi talks to Midorima, and they restrain him before he does more than harm a park. He is taken to the hospital where he will recover eventually.

Kuroko falls the next night, and Akashi waits.

His backlash does have the power to destroy the city, but instead, he turns Teiko High School to ashes. The school burns to the ground, never to rise again.

Once that is finished, Akashi talks to Kuroko. He tells him that he loves him and that he's proud of him. Akashi promises to stay by his side for however long the recovery takes. When he holds his body in his arms this time, Kuroko still breathes, and Akashi smiles. Both his eyes glow crimson.

…

Aomine recovers first because he is filled with the most raw power. He does not smile as much as before, but that is okay. He is alive and walking around, and he likes to tease the others when he can and spin his basketball on his finger.

Kise follows because his special talent is copying, and he always mimics Aomine best. His smile glows like the sun, and he spends half his time in Kuroko's hospital bed with him and the other half draped over others. Akashi allows this briefly only because he knows Kuroko would be pleased.

Murasakibara demands something to eat as soon as he's coherent, and they all know he will be okay after that. He stays in the hospital room even after he's released, so he can watch over the remaining ones like a great silent guardian.

Midorima is last, but he immediately makes up for lost time by throwing himself into work and recovery. He joins the committee devoted to rebuilding a new high school devoted to a different set of values. They plan to name it Seirin.

Akashi keeps his promise and remains by Kuroko's bedside every day and every night. He reminds him that he is loved, but he resolves to remain patient. The other four take turns sitting with him, and they, too, offer love and promises to the one that saved them all.

…

When Kuroko finally opens his eyes, Akashi nods an answer to the question unspoken on his tongue. Tears rise in his blue eyes, and Kuroko murmurs, "Thank you."

"No, Tetsuya. Thank you," Akashi corrects.

He then leans down to kiss the smile off Kuroko's lips.


End file.
